[Geysers] Fan and Mortar history

[JOChapple]

Many thanks to Michael, Paul, and Tara for all the F&M data. I have about ten lines of double-column space in "Yellowstone Treasures" to try to keep up with them—clearly not enough to do the subject justice!

Go Fan and Mortar for 2012!

Janet Chapple
-------

On Dec 18, 2011, at 3:30 PM, Tara Cross wrote:

> I have fairly complete records of Fan & Mortar from 2000 through 2011.
> 
> Here are the numbers for the 2000-2005 active phase (ok, so this is probably more detail than anyone really wanted, but since I had the numbers in front of me, I thought I'd share):
> 
> First eruption:  January 2000 (missing exact date), followed by several intervals of a month or more.
> July 8-late October:  intervals mostly 1-2 weeks
> October 2000 to June 7, 2001:  intervals 3 1/2-14 days
> June 7, 2001 to April 8, 2003:  intervals mostly 3-7 days; longest eruption of the "spring slowdown" in 2002 was only 9d21h38m
> April 26-June 8:  mini-dormancy of 42d19h25m (longest interval of active phase)
> June 8-December 20:  erratic intervals of mostly 4-11 days
> Dec 20, 2003-January 24, 2004:  mini-dormancy of 35d01h14m
> February 2004:  back to shorter intervals
> March-June:  long, erratic intervals of 9-27 days
> July-August:  short, regular intervals of 2 1/2-6 days EXCEPT for the shortest interval of the active phase, 1d15h56m
> September-October:  erratic intervals 2-9 days
> November 2004-March 2005  :  regular intervals 2 1/4-6 1/2 days
> April-May:  spring slowdown, longest interval 16d01h21m
> June-August 8:  regular intervals of 2-6 days
> August 8:  active phase comes to a screeching halt with no warning
> 
> 
> And, here are the numbers for the 2007-2011 active phase:
> 
> June 5, 2007:  first eruption, interval approximately 22 months
> June 2007-April 2008:  First interval 36 days, then intervals erratic, a few periods of 3-5 day intervals but some much longer ones thrown in (up to 24d
> April 2008-June 2008:  Mini-dormancy of at least 57 days (longest interval of active phase)
> July 2008-November 2008:  intervals mostly 2 1/2-5 1/2 days with a little slowdown in October
> November 2008-April 2009:  not much known, hard to know from occasional washed marker reports
> April 25-May 31:  mini-dormancy of at least 35 days
> June 2009-December 2010:  intervals mostly 3-6 days (longest interval of 2010 spring slowdown:  12d3h34m)
> January-April 2011:  intervals 5-8 days
> May 3-June ~18:  mini-dormancy of ~45-46 days
> July-October 15:  intervals 2 1/2-6 days
> October 14-15 overnight:  last eruption of active phase; hard to tell if there was any warning due to most eruptions occurring at night
> 
> 
> So, that's more than you ever wanted to know about F&M.  The 2007-2011 active phase was a little more erratic than 2000-2005 with several mini-dormancies.  But both active phases had extended periods of very regular intervals, and *most* eruptions were preceded by "event cycles."  The nature of these evolved over time but thanks to radios, Fan & Mortar were certainly more seeable in the 2000s than ever before.
> 
> --Tara Cross
> fanandmortar at hotmail.com
> 
> > Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:18:39 -0500
> > From: goldbeml at ucmail.uc.edu
> > To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
> > Subject: [Geysers] Fan and Mortar history
> > 
> > Between the season-ending reports that Fan and Mortar looked "broken" and 
> > the lack of washed markers to start the winter, I have a sinking feeling 
> > that they've gone dormant for the time being.
> > 
> > I've cobbled together an incomplete history of F&M active phases over the 
> > past 25 years. Some of it is personal recollection. Where possible I 
> > have corroborated (or corrected) it using the OFVC logbook data posted 
> > on GOSA's website.
> > 
> > Dormant 1985-86?
> > Active 1987-88
> > Dormant or very infrequent 1989 (early issues of the Sput would know)
> > Active 1990-94
> > Dormant 1995-June 1996
> > Active June 1996-May 1998
> > Dormant May 1998-July 2000
> > Active July 2000-August 2005
> > Dormant August 2005-June 2007
> > Active June 2007-October 2011
> > 
> > In many of the active years, there is a seasonal period of longer 
> > intervals (sometimes over a month) during the spring high water.
> > The onset of actual dormancy appears to come at any time, often without 
> > warning (2005 is a good example).
> > 
> > On the flip side, once eruptions resume the intervals might drop right 
> > away to their normal range. Let's hope that happens again soon.
> > 
> > Michael Goldberg
> > michael.goldberg at uc.edu
> > _______________________________________________
> > Geysers mailing list
> > Geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
> > 
> _______________________________________________
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> 

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